Compassion and prayers are certainly in order.
Reports are, that over 70,000 bodies have been recovered... so-far, but estimates are, that as many as 200,000 may have been killed.
Haiti is an exceedingly poor country, which has been a victim of warlords and unscrupulous politicians, but their problems go back MUCH further than that!
Haiti was a wellspring of natural resources, and the money that those resources brought into the country, but... Haitians were used as slave labor by imperialistic countries, including America, still a slave country at the time.
The Haitian slaves rebelled, rose up against their slave masters, and fought back, gaining their freedom after a bloody struggle that bought them independence. After this victory however, as PUNISHMENT for this rebellion, these large and wealthy nations prohibited anyone from trading with them, so that their resources could not be SOLD or even TRADED for the medical supplies, building materials, modern advancements, and other things that would have brought money and technology into the country.
In other words... Being pissed off about slaves gaining their freedom, more wealthy countries KEPT HAITI POOR AND DESTITUTE for many, many years.
Now, understandable, they have a hard time TRUSTING white people, or people from wealthy nations. They remember their history, and perhaps... it is only a matter of time, before some nation comes to enslave them again?
This is why war lords thrive there, and why the people won't always just "let in" military with medical supplies and food, without fear and concern.
